MidEast

Kerry Calls Jerusalem Terror Attack an “Atrocity”

At a press conference in Paris with Jordanian foreign minister Nasser Judeh, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned today’s terror attack in Jerusalem.

I condemn today’s terrorist act of somebody driving in another car into innocent people standing on the roadside. That is not just a terrorist act and an act of – an atrocity, but it only makes matters worse. It only raises tensions.

While Kerry called for both sides to “step back and find a way to create … calm,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas earlier in the day for inflaming the tensions.

At Wednesday’s official memorial service for former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded to the terrorist attack in Jerusalem, stating that the attack was “a direct response to incitement by Abu Mazen and his colleagues in Hamas.”

The Prime Minister continued, “We are in a prolonged campaign in Jerusalem, and I have no doubt that we will be victorious. We must unite as a people, not only against Palestinian incitement, but also against the rising tide of Islamic extremism.”

Hamas took credit for the attack today, when a Palestinian rammed his car into pedestrians, killing one and injuring 14 more.